JM Financial Inks Joint Venture with ASK Securities

Mumbai, July 04, 2007: JM Financial announced today that it has entered into a joint venture with leading broking firm, ASK Securities Pvt. Ltd. by agreeing to acquire a 60% stake in the company. The joint venture will focus on Equity Research and Institutional Sales & Trading.

The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of Financial Year 2007-08, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

Commenting on the joint venture, Mr. Nimesh Kampani, Chairman, JM Financial Group said, “We are very happy to partner with ASK Securities in this joint venture. With our strong investment banking franchise and our deep-rooted institutional relations, this joint venture will now complete the bouquet of financial services we offer. This joint venture is yet another step towards our long-term growth strategy of building a financial institution with global reach.” .

Mr. Asit Koticha, Chairman, ASK Securities added, “We are very happy to partner with the JM Financial Group. With our strong research and sales capabilities for servicing institutional clients, this joint venture will help scale up our Institutional Broking business substantially.”

About JM Financial

JM Financial is an integrated financial services group offering a wide range of capital market services to its corporate and individual clients. The Group has business interests in investment banking, institutional equity sales and broking, private and corporate wealth management, research, equity broking, portfolio management, asset management, commodity broking, NBFC activities and private equity. For more information, log on to www.jmfinancial.in

About ASK Securities

ASK Securities is a premier institutional equities broking firm in India offering research-based broking services to both domestic and offshore clients. It is a part of the ASK group which is a leading financial services group with a heritage dating back to 1983. The group is renowned for its strong research based investment advice and has had an active presence in the capital markets for over two decades. The group is headquartered in Mumbai and has its offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Dubai and Bahrain. ASK Securities is a corporate member of both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) and caters to Institutional clients.